[XC70XC]

Hi All,

Just got the R instrument cluster retrofitted into my 2002 V70XC. Everything works well but for some reason the speedometer is out by about 12-13km/h when checked against the GPS. Previously my old speedometer is lower by 3km/h against the same GPS unit. Got my Volvo indie workshop to check it out and they said that they calibrated it to what the car's ABS computer speed is showing on their unit. At 100km/h or about 60mph, the engine speed is 2000RPM which is about right I guess but the current R speedometer is reading 88km/h or 55mph. The Volvo indie said that it may be due to the R cluster has no stop needle to prevent the needle dropping below 0 unlike my original one which has a stop pin needle. So at rest, the R speedometer is resting below 0 almost to the odometer display.

Need your input as to how to calibrate the R speedometer to show more accuracy.
Should follow GPS input or the ABS speed unit?
Where is the optimal stop point for the needle when stationary?

Thanks.
DC

 

[XC70XC]

Note: The car booked in for this calibration when the odometer light doesn't come on. Well the Volvo indie have another crack at the speedometer since they need to check the unlit odometer and probably replaced a blown bulb.
So need your inputs to let my Volvo indie some idea to tackle this problem. They never have to do a retrofitted R cluster before. Good thing I get them to do it.

 

[JetMech]

I swapped over the "stop" pins for both the spedo and tach to keep the gauge needles from dropping down past zero. I always thought it looked a little wonkey like that. None the less, I don't see how not having them would give you a bad speed indication. How did you calibrate the needles initially? You might just need to redo it. It took me about 4-5 attempts to get it right.

 

[XC70XC]

The service manager did mentioned about swapping over the 'stop' pins over initially. But looking at the old instrument facia, is it possible to take out the 'stop' pins since it is glued into place. They calibrated to what the ABS control module said. But when I checked it against the GPS, the speedometer is reading lower speed by about 12-13km/h. The needle rest at almost near to the odometer which looks a bit odd to me. I wonder what is the actual rest place of the R speedometer needle.

 

[JetMech]

The pins are plastic welded into the orriginal gauges. Take an exacto knife and slice off the weld from the back side. Then use a small punch to push them out. The hardest part is correctly placing them on the R gauge. It requires using a tiny drill bit and a dab of super glue. The rest place on the R spedo and tach is the same on your orriginal cluster, zero. The difference is the the 04+ instrument clusters use a needle stop that is internal to the needle motor thus not requiring a pin.

 

[XC70XC]

Ok thanks. I'll let the workshop know and get them to put in the pins from my original gauges. Hope that will help with the calibration.

 

[XC70XC]

The car is back from the indie Volvo shop. The speedometer is reading accurately now with about 1-2km/h off from the GPS readout. No need to use the stop pins. All working well! R gauges looks so cool especially at night with the LED downlight.

 

[Ocean Racer]

the car is back from the indie volvo shop. The speedometer is reading accurately now with about 1-2km/h off from the gps readout. No need to use the stop pins. All working well! R gauges looks so cool especially at night with the led downlight.

awesome!
wOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW YOU GOT THE cluster to work.
My dealer could'nt get mine working.

My speedo is also out.

 

[Ocean Racer]

stupid caps keyboard

 

[XC70XC]

awesome!
wOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW YOU GOT THE cluster to work.
My dealer could'nt get mine working.

My speedo is also out.

The shop said they pulled out the needle and then placed it when it is showing the speed that they read from the car's computer. It takes them few tries to do it. Left it overnight and then back to them again to get the speedo done before they finally got it right.

 

[Ocean Racer]

I was referring to getting the cluster to work in general.
You got very lucky mate !

 

[ifnt420]

Are you sure they didn't just swap the dial faces?

 

[XC70XC]

I just changed the dial faces, the needles and the shroud cover containing the LED down lights. I read somewhere that swap the entire module can be tricky and may not work due to each module is programmed to each specific car.

 

[Ocean Racer]

Ahh makes sense now.

Yes I have noticed the XC speedo is out of sync with the R dials.
I can set the correct gps speed of 60km/h and the needle is spot on.
If I am doing 100 km/h the needle says 95
If I am doing 120 km/h the needle says 110 etc
If I am doing 30 km/h the needle says 35
You get my drift.

(I have had the needle on 215km/h - GPS couldn't keep up)

Yes I got flashed on the fwy in a 80 zone and the speedo was reading 85. So I was probably doing 90?

I would like to have t calibrated ASAP. I have proven that moving the needle isn't the solution.

 

[XC70XC]

Do you use the entire R module? Was it in mph reading? My indie Volvo use the readout from the car's computer to set the needle.

 

[Ocean Racer]

No we both did the same thing and just exchanged dials

 

[XC70XC]

Perhaps the needle stop point plays a part too. I noticed that the needle stop point not as low as before. If your previous gauge is reading correctly, then the needle is just need to be properly placed. The indie Volvo fella said there is no cable and the signal is all electrical.

 

[Ocean Racer]

Needle stop point doesn't play any part plus its in-tact.

 

[XC70XC]

Needle stop point doesn't play any part plus its in-tact.

Interesting to note that as I noticed mine is much closer to 0 (zero) than before. Earlier it is almost touching the odometer readout.
Do you notice the needle movement when your car starts moving? My needle now jump straight to 0 (zero) once it starts moving. Previously it was starting at below 0 (zero). I have tracked its movement over several days with the GPS and it is tracking true to my GPS readout by perhaps +/- 2km/h.

 

[JetMech]

Interesting to note that as I noticed mine is much closer to 0 (zero) than before. Earlier it is almost touching the odometer readout.
Do you notice the needle movement when your car starts moving? My needle now jump straight to 0 (zero) once it starts moving. Previously it was starting at below 0 (zero). I have tracked its movement over several days with the GPS and it is tracking true to my GPS readout by perhaps +/- 2km/h.

I didn't like how it dropped down so far when either the car was stopped or turned off. That the only reason I transfered the stop pins over.